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Sheffield prostate specialist diagnosed with the cancer he treats warns men to get tested

John Anderson and his wife Sarah at home Photo: ITV Calendar

Three of the country's leading experts in prostate cancer have all been diagnosed - with prostate cancer.

They've launched an awareness campaign to warn all men of the dangers of the disease. One of the consultants is John Anderson who was a surgeon at the Royal Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield before he was diagnosed.

His cancer was found in his liver and traced back to his prostate. The father of five is living on borrowed time and says more men should be aware of how lethal the disease is. He was given until Christmas, but has so far defied the odds.

He said: "I'd always envisaged I'd become a great world traveller as soon as I'd retired, we were going to get the perfect motor home - my wife and I were going to enjoy things. I don't think that's going to happen now, so you go for the more short term things."

He's now left his job as consultant at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

"The blinkers fall away, and all the things that seem to be important to you before, they're much less important, and you see the things you really value."

John discovered a swelling in his abdomen. It turned out to be a cancerous growth in his liver - but this was secondary. Doctors found the primary source was prostate cancer. He was shocked as he had done a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test just a few months before, which was normal.

He added: "I had no reason to get tested again - and there were no real symptoms apart from a swelling. So it's very important for men to get themselves checked out.

"Men tend to think - oh, that's a problem, but it will go away. They shouldn't do that - prostate cancer can be treated, and cured."

Common symptoms include:

needing to urinate more often, especially at night - for example if you often need to go again two hours after urinating

difficulty starting to urinate

straining or taking a long time to finish urinating

a weak flow when you urinate

a feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly

needing to rush to the toilet - you may occasionally leak before you get there

dribbling urine

However, early on, there are often no problems with urination.

More facts about prostate cancer:

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men

Every hour one man dies from prostate cancer - that's more than 10,000 every year

Over 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year - that's more than 100 men diagnosed every day

It's estimated that by 2030, prostate cancer will be the most common cancer

One in eight men will get prostate cancer

Over a quarter of a million men are living with and after prostate cancer